Swizzels
Swizzels Matlow is a privately held, third-generation family-owned UK confectionery manufacturer (founded 1928) producing iconic heritage brands — Love Hearts, Drumstick, Refreshers, Squashies, Parma Violets — distributed through all major British supermarkets, discounters, and e-commerce, with two factories and ~600 employees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1928
- HeadquartersNew Mills, Canada
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Swizzels does
Swizzels Matlow Limited is a privately held, family-owned British confectionery manufacturer founded in 1928 in London and relocated to New Mills, Derbyshire in 1940 after the Blitz. The company produces sugar confectionery across multiple product platforms — compressed fizzy tablets (Fizzers, Refreshers), heart-shaped embossed-message sweets (Love Hearts), chewy lollies (Drumstick, Double Lollies), soft foam sweets (Squashies, launched 2012), marshmallow products (Mallows, 2022), and lollipops (Fruity Pops) — at two manufacturing facilities in New Mills and Middlewich (the latter opened in 2022 to meet Squashies demand). Annual production volumes exceed 1.8 billion Refresher chew bars, 100 million Parma Violets rolls, and 180 million Fruity Pops, with the workforce of approximately 600 split between headquarters and the Middlewich facility.
The company's business model rests on three revenue pillars: branded wholesale confectionery sold through all major UK retailers (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose), discounters (Lidl, Aldi), and convenience/e-commerce channels; brand licensing of heritage IPs (primarily Love Hearts) into giftware, plush toys, ceramics, apparel, car scents, and personal care; and direct-to-consumer sales via shop.swizzels.com including personalized Love Hearts and wedding favors. Product development is driven by flavor extensions within core brands (Squashies, Refreshers) alongside category extensions like the Atomix soft-chew platform (2026) and Squashies Drumstick Ice Cream range, while strategic partnerships with entertainment (Minions/Universal), sports (Nottingham Forest FC), and entertainment venues (Co-op Live) extend marketing reach. The company is run by the third generation of the Matlow and Dee founding families, with no external institutional shareholders, and maintains HFSS-compliant product variants to navigate UK sugar-content regulation.
Swizzels firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Swizzels
- Legal name
- Swizzels Matlow Limited
- Website
- https://swizzels.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1928
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Swizzels Matlow is a privately held, third-generation family-owned UK confectionery manufacturer (founded 1928) producing iconic heritage brands — Love Hearts, Drumstick, Refreshers, Squashies, Parma Violets — distributed through all major British supermarkets, discounters, and e-commerce, with two factories and ~600 employees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Swizzels industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sugar Confectionery
- NAICS
- Nonchocolate Confectionery Manufacturing (31134), Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing (3113), Nonchocolate Confectionery Manufacturing (311340)
- SIC
- Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060), Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sugar Confectionery (Gummies, Hard Candy, Chews) (CRADABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Frozen & Refrigerated Snack Foods (Ice Cream Novelties, Snack Bites) (CRADABAL), Bakery & Confectionery Wholesale (AFAIABAG)
Keywords
Where Swizzels is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Mills
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Swizzels business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Confectionery product sales: Manufacturing and selling sugar confectionery products through retail and wholesale channels. Products include Squashies, Love Hearts, Refreshers, Drumstick, and licensed branded confectionery.
- Licensing and brand collaborations: Licensing Love Hearts and other brand imagery for merchandise including plush toys, giftware, clothing accessories, and partnership products with external brands.
- Competition and promotion partnerships: Joint promotional activities with retail partners (Co-op Live ticket giveaways) driving product sales through purchase-based entry mechanics.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Swizzels product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Swizzels is a UK-based, family-owned sugar confectionery manufacturer founded in 1928 that produces and sells branded sweets including Love Hearts, Drumstick, Refreshers, and Squashies to retailers and consumers in the United Kingdom and selected export markets. The company manufactures compressed dextrose sweets, chew bars, marshmallow, and foam-based confectionery products in its own UK production facilities and distributes them through major grocery, discount, and convenience channels.
Product overview
Swizzels Matlow is a British confectionery company founded in 1928, operating from New Mills, Derbyshire. The company offers a diverse portfolio of sweets and treats organized across multiple product lines: Squashies (soft foam sweets launched 2012 with multiple flavors), Drumstick (iconic chewy lollies since 1957), Love Hearts (heart-shaped message sweets since 1954), Refreshers (fizzy sherbet chews since 1955), Mallows (marshmallow with Drumstick flavor), Double Lollies (dual-flavored sherbet lollies since 1952), Rainbow Drops (puffed maize/rice candy since pre-WWII), Parma Violets (perfumed violet sweets since 1946), Fizzers (compressed fizzy sweets since 1933), Fruity Pops (lollipops since 1960s), Vimto Chew Bars (collaboration), Sweet Tubs (bulk gum/foam sweets), Classics (retro sweets), Pick 'n' Mix (bulk offerings), Variety Packs, Atomix (new modern reimagining), Minions (licensed franchise products), and Vegan sweets. The company also produces licensed collaborations including Love Hearts gift products, Emma Bridgewater ceramics, and bubble tea partnerships. Swizzels is a family business run by third-generation Matlow/Dee families, employing approximately 600 people.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Squashies: Soft and foamy fruit-flavoured sweets launched in 2012, combining favourite Swizzels flavours in a uniquely soft texture.
- Love Hearts
- Drumstick
- Refreshers
- Rainbow Drops
- Parma Violets
- Mallows
- Minions x Swizzels
- Fizzers
- Double Lollies
- Vimto Chew Bars
- Atomix
Products and services
- Love Hearts
- Drumstick
- Refreshers
- Squashies
- Swizzels licensed character and entertainment ranges
- Swizzels online shop (direct-to-consumer)
Quantifiable outcome
- 1.8 billion+ Refresher chew bars manufactured annually
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Swizzels
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Swizzels technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Swizzels partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Co-op / Co-op LivecoreSwizzels partnered with Co-op as official sweet supplier. Promotional partnership includes a 'Buy, Scan, Win' competition offering 30 pairs of Co-op Live tickets. Promotion ran from August-September 2025.
- Parklife FestivalminorSquashies bundle x Parklife competition with UK winners (16+). Promotion period June 20-22, 2026. Prize includes one bag of every flavour of Squashies with 5 winners total.
- Nottingham Forest Football ClubcoreSwizzels established a partnership with Nottingham Forest Football Club as official sweet supplier, engaging sports fans with branded confectionery.
- The Brit FestminorSwizzels x The Brit Fest VIP tickets competition. Prize consisted of 2 VIP weekend tickets including car parking, exclusive VIP area access, and front stage access.
- Krispy KrememinorLove Hearts x Krispy Kreme Valentine's competition partnership. Prize included a year's supply of Krispy Kreme doughnuts (£156 on gift card), Donut Worry soft toy, and Love Hearts products.
- The Cheshire Cheese CompanyminorSwizzels partnered with The Cheshire Cheese Company to create Parma Violets Cheese - a limited edition product combining Cheshire cheese with the distinctive Parma Violets flavor. The pale purple cheese with purple wax gained national press, TV, and radio coverage.
- Vimto (Nichols plc)coreSwizzels collaborated with Vimto to create Vimto Chew Bars - a deliciously fruity chew bar combining Swizzels confectionery expertise with Vimto's signature flavor profile. Vimto is a registered trademark of Nichols plc, WA12 0HH, UK.
- English Cheesecake CompanyminorLove Hearts collaborated with English Cheesecake Company to create a deliciously sweet dessert product for sharing.
- Bubble PandaminorSwizzels collaborated with Bubble Panda to bring favourite Swizzels sweets into bubble tea format - a new category extension.
- Applied NutritionminorSwizzels x Applied Nutrition collaboration bringing modern functional nutrition with classic Swizzels taste.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Swizzels competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Mondelez International: Mondelez operates Cadbury, Maynards Bassetts and other UK confectionery brands that overlap with Swizzels in sugar and jelly sweets. As a broader snack and chocolate conglomerate, it competes for the same retailer shelf space and consumer occasions but is not focused on Swizzels' heritage sugar sweets niche.
- Ferrero: Global confectionery incumbent producing Kinder, Tic Tac, and a wide range of seasonal gifting products sold in UK retail. Ferrero competes with Swizzels in seasonal gifting, retail shelf allocation and family confectionery occasions, though with a primarily chocolate-based portfolio.
- Mars Wrigley: Mars Wrigley is the global confectionery incumbent operating brands such as Starburst, Skittles, Galaxy and Maltesers that compete with Swizzels in UK impulse and grocery confectionery, and uses comparable manufacturing, retail distribution and HFSS-compliance capabilities — though at much larger scale and across both chocolate and sugar categories.
Direct peers
- Perfetti Van Melle: Owner of Mentos, Chupa Chups, Fruit-tella and Smint, Perfetti Van Melle directly competes with Swizzels in UK sugar confectionery (chew bars, lollipops, fizzy sweets) with comparable product formats and mass-market grocery distribution.
- Tangerine Confectionery: UK-based private sugar confectionery manufacturer producing foam sweets (e.g. Millions, Fruity Filled Eggs, Vimto confectionery) with comparable scale and customer overlap with major UK grocers. Tangerine is one of the closest like-for-like direct peers to Swizzels in the British sugar confectionery manufacturing space.
- Haribo: Global leader in gummy and chewy confectionery including jelly sweets, foam-based sweets (e.g. Maoam) and licorice. Haribo competes directly with Swizzels' Squashies, Love Hearts, Drumstick and Refreshers ranges in UK grocery aisles and shares the same sugar-confectionery DNA, HFSS exposure and gummy/foam format specialisation.
- Maynards Bassetts (Mondelez): Specialising in jelly babies, wine gums and other sugar/gelatine-based sweets sold in UK supermarkets, Maynards Bassetts is a direct competitor to Swizzels' jelly, chew and foam ranges, sharing the same retail channels and target audience of family confectionery shoppers.
Regional players
- Hotel Chocolat: UK-headquartered premium chocolate maker with shared distribution through major UK grocers and a similar focus on branded, giftable and seasonal confectionery. While chocolate-led rather than sugar, Hotel Chocolat competes for similar consumer occasions, gifting purchases and premium shelf space.
Emerging players
- Swizzels competitor: Swizzel's-style indie pick-and-mix brands: Independent pick-and-mix and traditional British sweet brands (e.g., Treat Street, Kingdom of Sweets, A Great Little Sweet Shop) competing in heritage British confectionery niches — they overlap with Swizzels' Sweet Shop Favourites, Pick 'n' Mix and retro Classics lines at the smaller-batch or retail-front level.
- Candy Kittens: UK challenger brand producing gourmet, vegan-friendly and better-for-you gummy sweets sold in major retailers. Candy Kittens targets the same UK grocery and convenience channels as Swizzels with a more contemporary, adult-focused positioning, representing an emerging competitive threat in the sugar/gummy category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Swizzels social profiles
Digital presenceSwizzels financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Swizzels leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Swizzels funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Swizzels M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Swizzels
What does Swizzels do?
Swizzels is a UK-based, family-owned sugar confectionery manufacturer founded in 1928 that produces and sells branded sweets including Love Hearts, Drumstick, Refreshers, and Squashies to retailers and consumers in the United Kingdom and selected export markets. The company manufactures compressed dextrose sweets, chew bars, marshmallow, and foam-based confectionery products in its own UK production facilities and distributes them through major grocery, discount, and convenience channels.
Is Swizzels a public or private company?
Swizzels is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Swizzels founded?
Swizzels was founded in 1928. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Swizzels based?
Swizzels is headquartered in New Mills, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Swizzels make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Confectionery product sales are the primary driver. The others are licensing and brand collaborations and competition and promotion partnerships.
Who are Swizzels's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Mondelez International, Ferrero and Mars Wrigley. Direct peers are Perfetti Van Melle, Tangerine Confectionery, Haribo and Maynards Bassetts (Mondelez). Hotel Chocolat is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Swizzels competitor: Swizzel's-style indie pick-and-mix brands and Candy Kittens.
Does Swizzels have an API?
No public API is recorded for Swizzels.
What industry is Swizzels in?
Swizzels's product category is Sugar Confectionery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADABAB, Sugar Confectionery (Gummies, Hard Candy, Chews), with a secondary code of CRADABAL, Frozen & Refrigerated Snack Foods (Ice Cream Novelties, Snack Bites). Its NAICS code is 31134 and its SIC code is 2060.